Method of treating hydrocarbons



H. W. JONES, DECD.

r. E. JONES, ADMINISTRATOR. METHOD OF TREATING HYDROCARBONS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. I3 I918- v Patented July 27, 1920.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY W. JONES, OF INDEPENDENCE, KANSAS; FRANK E. JONES, ADMINISTRATOR OF SAID HARRY W. JONES, DECEASED, ASSIGNOR TO THE KANSAS CITY GASOLINE COMPANY, OF KANSAS CITY, KANSAS, A CORPORATION OF KANSAS.

METHOD OF TREATING HYDROCARBONS.

Original application filed May 27, 1916, Serial No. 100,278.

Specification of Letters Patent.

13. 1918. Serial No. 216.938.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY V. JONES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Independence, in the county of Montgomery and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Treating Hydrocarbons, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

My invention relates to the art of refining liquid hydrocarbons, and has for its object the production of improved methods of cracking the petroleum oils and vapors, with greater safety, efiiciency and economy than has hitherto been possible. The present application is a division of my copending application Serial No. 100,278, filed I May 27, 1916.

In order to attain my object, I resort to subdivision of the apparatus, or rather a multiplication of units to form a battery or batteries, of which the principal elements are all connected in parallel, with suitable cut-offs and pressure valves so arranged that individual units or elements may be cut in and cut out with facility. Some of the individual elements may for special reasons be included inseries or in tandem with.

desired pressure but preferably at a very l w pressure or atmospheric pressure. The still is fitted with gages, a charging pipe 3, a return pipe 4, and a vapor outlet 5. All these are fitted with valves, marked respectively 6, 7, 8, and 9. The vapor outlet 5 has two branches, one branch 10 preferably going to a condenser direct, and serving to conduct off the more volatile products, including the percentage of gasolene which results from simple distillation, while the other branch 11 goes to a compressor or pump 12, by which the vapor is compressed through pipe 13 into the manifold 14 and the branch connecting pipes 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19, leading respectively to the superheater coils 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24. The pipe 13 is fitted with a manometer or pressure gage 25, and cut-off valve 26. It may also be fitted with a check valve of any suitable .design, to prevent back pressure of the heated oil and vapor reaching the compressor. Each of the branch connecting pipes 15 to 19 inclusive, is fitted with a cut-ofi valve, these valves being marked 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31 respectively. These pipes are also preferably provided with check valves 32, 33, 34, 35 and 36 respectively.

The superheater coils 20 to 24 inclusive, are arranged in separate furnaces indicated by the numerals 37 to 41 inclusive. From each superheater an outlet or discharge pipe extends to the manifold 43. These branch discharge pipes are indicated by the numerals 44, 45, 46, 47 and 48 respectively, and they are fitted with individual cut-off valves marked 49, 50, 51, 52 and 53 respectively. The manifold 43 is the condenser manifold, and is shown fitted with branch pipes 54, and 56 passing to either fractional condensers, dephlegmators, or simple condensers, which may be of different capacity or characteristics. These dephlegmators indicated at 54, 55 and 56 are connected through pipes 57, 58 and 59 to suitable final condensers and receiving tanks, each pipe bein fitted with a suitable valve 60, 61 or 62. 4 rom the bottom of each dephlegmator or fractional condenser a pipe 63, 64 or 65 is provided, fitted with a valve 66, 67, and 68, for draining-off the liquid residuum whichhas not passed over into the final condensers'or receiving tanks through the pipes 57, 58 or 59. The draining pipes are taken to a back trap manifold 69, from which a pipe 70 fitted with valve 71- passes to a pump or compressor 72. This pump serves to force the uncracked residuum back through the return pipe 4 to the primary va orizer 1 for retreatment.

t will be observed that there are valves 6, 7, 8, 9 and 26, by which the vaporizer and its connection to the manifold 14 may be completely controlled, in every respect. It

Patented Juiy 27, 1920.

results are disastrous.

may be desirable under some circumstances to supply oil to the superheaters for cracking instead of vapor, and 1 indicate a method of doing this by means of'a pump 73 connected to the manifold 14 by pipe 74 fitted with valve 75, and drawing its supply of oil through the pipe 76 from a tank or system 77.

if any one of the superheater coils is'in trouble, as for example if a leak starts, 1 may instantly cut off that particular coil by means of its valves 274;9, etc., and continue to operate the remaining superheater coils without interruption. If for any reason the compressor fails to produce enough pressure in the manifold 14 to properly supply all the coils, I can cut out any desired num ber of them, and concentrate the discharge of the compressor on the one or more remaining in service. After having run through a quantity of hydrocarbon and cracking so as to separate out all the higher (Baum) products, it may be very desirable to treat the residuum under very high pressure and this is rendered possible by the arrangement described. i

My invention is in the nature of an improvement over that described and claimed in two applications of Frank E. \Vellman, Serial No. 69,499, filed December 30, 1915, and Serial No. 32,704, filed June 7, 1915.- In the apparatus described in those cases, especially when the pipe still is heated in a furnace, explosions occur whenever the iron is partly burnt, as it frequently is, and'the My invention employs subdivided and relatively small coils, the principle being that the pressure due to heat in such coils is inversely as their surface", winch is an advantage, while the content is the greatest for the smallest surface. Consequently explosions are avoided. -Any desired temperature is obtainable up to the limit of the pumping capacity, however, and this can be much more readily regulated than in a single coil still.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The process of cracking petroleum oils, comprising the following steps: first, vaporizing the oil at low or atmospheric pressure, then compressing it by the use of external energy, then subdividing and feeding the compressed oil into separately heated cracking zones and maintaining high heat and pressure in each subdivided body independently of the others, then separately discharging the cracked products and collecting tne same together and.then condensing the rig-- gregated product.

2. The process of cracking petroleum oils, comprising the following steps: first, vaporizing the oil at low or atmospheric pressure, then compressing it by the use of external energy, then subdividing and feeding the compressed oil into separately heated cracking zones and maintaining high heat and pressure in each subdivided body independently of the others, then separately discharging the cracked products and collecting the same together and then condensing the aggregated product, finally returning the heavieruncracked products to the low pressure vaporizing zone for retreatment.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

HARRY V. JONES. 

